A heating cigarette reconstituted tobacco and a preparation method thereof and a heating cigarette

Abstract

This patent discloses a reconstituted tobacco leaf for heated cigarettes, its preparation method, and the heated cigarette itself. The reconstituted tobacco leaf includes a fiber substrate and a coating slurry loaded on the fiber substrate. The fiber substrate is a needle-punched nonwoven fabric prepared from non-plant fiber raw materials using a needle-punching method, and the fiber substrate has a porous structure. By utilizing a polymer combined with needle punching to prepare a fiber substrate (needle-punched nonwoven fabric) with a porous structure, it can carry and lock the sprayed slurry, providing a channel for heat transfer and aerosol release in the aerosol generation matrix during the heating process of heated cigarettes. This breaks through the raw material limitations of traditional plant fibers, abandons the complex preparation process of traditional papermaking, and improves the thickness uniformity and tensile strength of the reconstituted tobacco leaf, enhances the sensory quality of heated cigarettes, reduces energy consumption and production costs, and makes it more suitable for the needs of continuous operation in modern factories.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This patent belongs to the field of tobacco product processing technology, specifically relating to a heated cigarette reconstituted tobacco leaf and its preparation method, and heated cigarette. Background Technology

[0002] Reconstituted tobacco, also known as tobacco sheet, reconstituted tobacco, or homogenized tobacco, is mainly composed of tobacco fragments, tobacco dust, tobacco stems, or low-grade tobacco leaves, plus some plant fibers, adhesives, and flavorings. It is an important raw material for heated cigarettes. Heated cigarettes are made by heating the reconstituted tobacco, containing tobacco and atomizing agents, at a low temperature (below 350°C) to produce an aerosol containing nicotine and flavoring substances, which is then inhaled by the user.

[0003] Currently, the main production processes for reconstituted tobacco include the papermaking method and the dry process. The papermaking method involves mixing tobacco powder, tobacco stems, plant fibers (mainly plant / fluff pulp), and adhesives in a large amount of water, pulping them to form a thin slurry, and then using papermaking equipment for screen forming, pressing, and drying. However, this process consumes a huge amount of water and energy, generates a large amount of wastewater containing organic matter, has high environmental treatment costs, and is complex and lengthy, thus limiting production efficiency. The dry process involves dry or semi-dry mixing tobacco powder with a small amount of binder and atomizing agent to form a material with a certain degree of plasticity, which is then pressed into sheets using high-pressure roller pressing equipment. However, the choice of fiber raw materials is limited, usually restricted to easily pulped fluff pulp, making it difficult to optimize product performance, such as excessive bulk and insufficient strength, resulting in sheets with poor flexibility and easy breakage.

[0004] Needle-punched nonwoven fabric is a type of dry-laid nonwoven fabric. It is made by opening, carding, and laying short fibers into a fiber web, then reinforcing it with needle punches to form a fabric. Nonwoven fabrics do not have warp or weft threads. Currently, needle-punched nonwoven fabric technology is already used in the preparation of reconstituted tobacco. For example, patent document CN102754906A discloses a method to increase the coating rate of reconstituted tobacco. A substrate is obtained through wet or dry papermaking, and a specific number of micropores are vertically punctured into the substrate using needles, with the number of pores being 300-400 per cm. 2 The diameter of the puncture holes is 0.1-0.15 mm. By increasing the surface area of ​​the substrate, the coating liquid extract can enter the substrate through the puncture holes and combine with the substrate. Although this can increase the coating rate of reconstituted tobacco, the choice of fiber raw materials is limited, resulting in poor thickness uniformity and low tensile strength. It is not suitable as a filling matrix for aerosol generation in heated cigarettes.

[0005] Therefore, it is necessary to develop a reconstituted tobacco leaf that can be filled with an aerosol-generating matrix suitable for heated cigarettes, in order to solve the problems of single raw material source, limited raw material selection, difficulty in controlling product performance, complex process, high energy consumption, and high cost in the existing reconstituted tobacco leaf preparation process. This would improve the thickness uniformity and tensile strength of reconstituted tobacco leaves, enhance the sensory quality of heated cigarettes, reduce energy consumption and production costs, and make it more suitable for the needs of continuous operation in modern factories. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of this patent is to provide a method for preparing reconstituted tobacco leaves for heated cigarettes and heated cigarettes, in order to solve the problems of single raw material source, limited raw material selection, difficulty in controlling product performance, complex process, high energy consumption, and high cost in the existing reconstituted tobacco leaf preparation process. It aims to improve the thickness uniformity and tensile strength of reconstituted tobacco leaves, enhance the sensory quality of heated cigarettes, reduce energy consumption and production costs, and make them more suitable for the needs of continuous operation in modern factories.

[0007] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, this patent provides the following technical solution: This patent provides a heated cigarette reconstituted tobacco leaf, which includes a fiber substrate and a coating slurry; the fiber substrate is a needle-punched nonwoven fabric prepared from non-plant fiber raw materials by a needle-punching method, and the fiber substrate has a porous structure for adsorbing the coating slurry; the coating slurry includes tobacco raw materials.

[0008] Furthermore, non-plant-based raw materials include one or more combinations of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) chips, polypropylene (PP) chips, polylactic acid (PLA) chips, or polyamide chips.

[0009] Furthermore, the basis weight of the fiber substrate is 20-30 g / m². 2 30-50 g / m 2 50-60 g / m 2 Or 60-80 g / m 2 The thickness of the fiber substrate is 0.1-0.15 mm, 0.15-0.18 mm, 0.18-0.20 mm, 0.20-0.30 mm or 0.30-0.50 mm.

[0010] Furthermore, the coating slurry is composed of solids and deionized water, with a solids content of 20-50% and a viscosity of 500-3000 mPa·s.

[0011] Furthermore, the solids include tobacco raw materials; tobacco raw materials include one or more combinations of tobacco stems, tobacco dust or fragments; the mesh size of the tobacco raw materials is 80-100 mesh, 100-150 mesh or 150-200 mesh.

[0012] Furthermore, solids also include binders, atomizing agents, and fragrances.

[0013] Furthermore, based on a solids percentage of 100%, the pretreated tobacco raw material has a mass percentage of 50-70%, the binder has a mass percentage of 1-10%, the atomizing agent has a mass percentage of 20-45%, and the flavoring and fragrance has a mass percentage of 0.5-8.0%.

[0014] Furthermore, the binder includes one or more combinations of sodium methylcellulose, guar gum, sodium alginate, carrageenan, gum arabic, xanthan gum, pectin, chitosan, agar, hydroxypropyl distarch phosphate, hydroxypropyl starch, or polyvinyl alcohol.

[0015] Furthermore, the atomizing agent includes one or more combinations of glycerin, propylene glycol, sodium polyacrylate, and polyvinylpyrrolidone.

[0016] Furthermore, flavorings include one or more combinations of tobacco extracts, flavorings, or natural plant essential oils. Flavorings include coconut, coffee, chocolate, vanilla, citrus (such as grapefruit, orange, lime, bergamot, or lemon), menthol, licorice, caramel, honey, peanut, walnut, cashew, hazelnut, almond, pineapple, strawberry, raspberry, tropical fruit, cherry, cinnamon, peppermint, deer hoof grass, spearmint, eucalyptus, mint, fruit flavorings (such as those from apple, pear, peach, strawberry, apricot, raspberry, cherry, pineapple, lemongrass, lime, chili (capsaicin), citrus, tobacco flavor, bergamot, and plum). Natural plant essential oils include peppermint, spearmint, menthol, eucalyptus, clove oil, laurel oil, fennel, thyme, cedarwood leaf oil, nutmeg, and oils from the fruits of the aforementioned flavorings.

[0017] Furthermore, the quantitative amount of reconstituted tobacco for heated cigarettes is 70-90 g / m³. 2 90-110 g / m 2 110-130 g / m 2 Or 130-150 g / m 2 .

[0018] Furthermore, the moisture content of reconstituted tobacco leaves for heated cigarettes is 10-12%, 12-13%, or 13-15%.

[0019] Another aspect of this patent provides a method for preparing reconstituted tobacco leaves for heated cigarettes, comprising the following steps: Step A: Non-plant fiber raw materials are melted, spun, cooled and drawn to obtain fiber bundles. The fiber bundles are opened and drawn to obtain a fiber web. The fiber web is needle-punched using a needle-punching method and then heat-treated to obtain a fiber substrate. Step B: Spray the coating slurry onto the surface of the fiber substrate to obtain the loaded fiber substrate; Step C: After drying the fiber-loaded substrate, roll it up and cut it to obtain reconstituted tobacco leaves for heated cigarettes.

[0020] Furthermore, in step A, the acupuncture includes pre-acupuncture and main acupuncture. The frequency of pre-acupuncture is 300-400 times / min, the frequency of main acupuncture is 500-700 times / min, and the acupuncture density is 8000-10000 needles / m². 2 .

[0021] Furthermore, in step B, the coating rate of the coating slurry is 64-68%, 68-72%, or 72-74%; the atomization pressure of the spraying is 0.2-0.6 MPa.

[0022] Furthermore, in step C, the drying temperature is 80-110℃, and the drying time is 4-8 min.

[0023] Another aspect of this patent provides a heated cigarette, including heated cigarette reconstituted tobacco leaves.

[0024] Alternatively or additionally, the aerosol forming matrix may include tobacco-free aerosol forming materials.

[0025] For example, the aerosol forming material can be a sheet that includes nicotine salts and an aerosol forming agent.

[0026] Alternatively or additionally, the aerosol forming matrix may include a single aerosol forming agent. Alternatively, the aerosol forming matrix may include a combination of two or more aerosol forming agents.

[0027] Preferably, the aerosol forming matrix has an aerosol forming agent content of more than 5% by dry weight. More preferably, the aerosol forming matrix may have an aerosol forming agent content between about 5% and about 30% by dry weight. In one embodiment, the aerosol forming matrix has an aerosol forming agent content of about 20% by dry weight.

[0028] In this invention, aerosol forming agent is used to describe any suitable known compound or mixture of compounds that promotes aerosol formation in use and is substantially resistant to thermal degradation at the operating temperature of the aerosol-generated article.

[0029] Suitable aerosol forming agents are known in the art and include, but are not limited to: polyols, such as propylene glycol, triethylene glycol, 1,3-butanediol, and glycerol; esters of polyols, such as glycerol monoacetate, glycerol diacetate, or glycerol triacetate; and aliphatic esters of mono-, di-, or polycarboxylic acids, such as dimethyl dodecanoate and dimethyl tetradecanoate. Preferred aerosol forming agents are polyols or mixtures thereof, such as propylene glycol, triethylene glycol, 1,3-butanediol, and most preferably glycerol.

[0030] Preferably, the aerosol forming matrix includes a solid aerosol forming matrix, which may include one or more of fragments, strips, bars or sheets, and contains one or more of herbaceous plant leaves, tobacco leaves, tobacco ribs, flat tobacco and homogeneous tobacco.

[0031] Alternatively, the solid aerosol forming matrix can be placed on or embedded in a thermally stable carrier.

[0032] The carrier can be any form, such as fragments, strips, bars, or sheets.

[0033] Alternatively, the solid aerosol forming matrix can be arranged on the surface of the carrier in the form of, for example, sheets, foams, gels or slurries.

[0034] The aerosol forming matrix can be, by choice, in the form of a plug.

[0035] Alternatively, the plug may comprise an aerosol-forming material defined by paper or other packaging material. In the case where the aerosol-forming matrix is ​​in the form of a plug, an integral plug comprising any packaging paper is considered to be an aerosol-forming matrix.

[0036] Preferably, the heated cigarette includes an aerosol forming matrix, a support element, an aerosol cooling element, and a filter rod section. The support element and the aerosol cooling element form an intermediate composite section, while the aerosol forming matrix forms the smoke-generating section.

[0037] Preferably, the aerosol cooling element can have a length of approximately 300 mm per millimeter. 2 With a length of approximately 1000 mm per millimeter 2 The total surface area between them. In a preferred embodiment, the aerosol cooling element has approximately 500 mm per millimeter of length. 2 The total surface area.

[0038] Preferably, the aerosol cooling element has low suction resistance. That is, preferably, the aerosol cooling element provides low resistance to air passing through the aerosol-generated article. Preferably, the aerosol cooling element has virtually no impact on the suction resistance of the aerosol-generated article.

[0039] Preferably, the aerosol forming matrix, support element, aerosol cooling element, and filter rod segment are generally cylindrical and have substantially equal outer diameters. For example, they have an outer diameter of at least 5 mm. Preferably, they have an outer diameter between about 5 mm and about 12 mm, for example between about 5 mm and about 10 mm, or between about 6 mm and about 8 mm. In a preferred embodiment, the outer diameter is 7.2 mm + / - 10%.

[0040] Preferably, the aerosol forming matrix can have a length between about 5 mm and about 15 mm, for example, between about 8 mm and about 12 mm. In a preferred embodiment, the aerosol forming matrix has a length of about 12 mm.

[0041] Preferably, the support element may comprise a hollow tubular element. The support element may be formed from any suitable material or combination of materials.

[0042] More preferably, the support element may be formed from one or more materials from the group consisting of: cellulose acetate; paperboard; crimped paper, such as crimped heat-resistant paper or crimped parchment; and polymeric materials, such as low-density polyethylene (LDPE). In a preferred embodiment, the support element comprises a medium cellulose acetate tube.

[0043] Preferably, the filter rod segment can have a length between approximately 5 mm and approximately 20 mm. In a preferred embodiment, the filter rod segment has a length of approximately 14 mm. The filter rod segment can have a length between approximately 5 mm and approximately 14 mm. In a preferred embodiment, the filter rod segment has a length of approximately 7 mm.

[0044] Compared with existing technologies, this patent has the following beneficial technical effects: This patent provides a method for preparing reconstituted tobacco leaves for heated cigarettes, along with heated cigarettes. By utilizing a polymer combined with needle punching to prepare a porous fiber substrate (needle-punched nonwoven fabric), it can support and lock in the sprayed slurry, providing a channel for heat transfer during the heating process of heated cigarettes and the release of aerosols from the aerosol generation matrix. This breaks through the raw material limitations of traditional plant fibers, eliminates the complex preparation process of traditional papermaking, and improves the uniformity of thickness and tensile strength of reconstituted tobacco leaves, enhancing the sensory quality of heated cigarettes, reducing energy consumption and production costs, and making it more suitable for the needs of continuous operation in modern factories. Attached Figure Description

[0045] The above content of this patent and the following detailed embodiments will be better understood when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the drawings are merely examples of the claimed technical solution.

[0046] Figure 1 This is a process diagram illustrating the preparation of heated cigarette reconstituted tobacco leaves in a specific embodiment of this patent. Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the heated cigarette in a specific embodiment of this patent; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a heated cigarette being drawn through a heated smoking device in a specific embodiment of this patent; Figure 4 This is a physical image of the fiber substrate in Embodiment 1 of this patent; Figure 5 This is a photograph of the heated cigarette reconstituted tobacco leaves in Embodiment 1 of this patent. Figure 6 This is a physical image of the reconstituted tobacco leaf in Comparative Example 1 of this patent; Figure 7 This is a physical image of the fiber substrate in Comparative Example 2 of this patent; Figure 8 This is a physical image of the reconstituted tobacco leaf in Comparative Example 2 of this patent; Figure 9 This is a physical image of the reconstituted tobacco leaf in Comparative Example 3 of this patent; Figure 10 This is a physical image of the reconstituted tobacco leaf used in Comparative Example 4 of this patent.

[0047] The reference numerals in the attached figures are explained as follows: Cigarette paper: 1; Formed paper: 2; Heated cigarettes: 100; Smoke-generating section: 110; Support section: 120; Cooling section: 130; Filtration section: 140; Heated smoke appliance: 200; Battery and control components: 210; Heating chamber: 220; Heating element: 230. Detailed Implementation

[0048] The detailed features and advantages of this application are described below in the specific embodiments. The content of this description is sufficient to enable any person skilled in the art to understand the technical content of this application and implement it accordingly. Based on the specification, claims and drawings disclosed in this specification, a person skilled in the art can easily understand the related objectives and advantages of this application.

[0049] In this specification and claims, several terms will be used, and unless otherwise indicated, these terms will be defined to have the following meanings: As used in this patent, "coating rate" refers to the percentage of the coating amount of the coating slurry to the load fiber substrate, expressed as % and the formula for calculating the coating amount is: (quantity of load fiber substrate - quantity of fiber substrate) / quantity of load fiber substrate.

[0050] All figures used to represent component amounts, properties (e.g., weight-average molecular weight), reaction conditions, etc., should be considered to be modified in all cases by the terms "within the unavoidable margin of error" or "approximately". Therefore, the numerical values ​​presented herein are approximate and may vary depending on the desired properties sought to be obtained by this patent. The principle of equivalents, which is applied to a minimum and not intended to limit the scope of the claims, should be applied, for example, each value should be interpreted at least according to the reported significant digits and by applying conventional rounding techniques.

[0051] All other terms used herein for special definition are intended to have the general meaning understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, and in particular, meaning that one of ordinary skill in the art, upon reading the claims, specification and drawings of this patent, can directly and without doubt determine how the technical solution of this patent can be implemented.

[0052] Even if there are incomplete descriptions, omissions, or ambiguities in the grammar, words, punctuation, graphics, symbols, etc. of the claims, specification, and drawings of this patent, a person skilled in the art can still arrive at the only correct understanding by reading the claims, specification, and drawings as a whole without extensive reasoning or experimentation, and effectively exclude various incorrect interpretations that are not aimed at achieving the purpose of this patent.

[0053] The "range" disclosed herein is defined by a lower limit and an upper limit. A given range is defined by selecting a lower limit and an upper limit, which define the boundaries of a particular range. Ranges defined in this way can include or exclude endpoints and can be arbitrarily combined; that is, any lower limit can be combined with any upper limit to form a range. For example, if ranges of 60-120 and 80-110 are listed for a specific parameter, it is expected that ranges of 60-110 and 80-120 are also expected. Furthermore, if minimum range values ​​of 1 and 2 are listed, and if maximum range values ​​of 3, 4, and 5 are listed, then the following ranges are all expected: 1-3, 1-4, 1-5, 2-3, 2-4, and 2-5. In this application, unless otherwise stated, the numerical range "ab" represents a shortened representation of any combination of real numbers between a and b, where a and b are real numbers. For example, the numerical range "0-5" indicates that all real numbers between "0-5" have been listed in this article; "0-5" is simply a shortened representation of these numerical combinations. Furthermore, when a parameter is stated as an integer ≥2, it is equivalent to disclosing that the parameter is, for example, an integer such as 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, etc.

[0054] Unless otherwise specified, all embodiments and preferred embodiments mentioned herein can be combined to form new technical solutions.

[0055] Unless otherwise specified, all the technical features and preferred features mentioned herein can be combined to form new technical solutions.

[0056] Unless otherwise specified, all steps mentioned herein may be performed sequentially or randomly, but are preferably performed sequentially. For example, the method includes steps (a) and (b), indicating that the method may include steps (a) and (b) performed sequentially, or it may include steps (b) and (a) performed sequentially. For example, the mention that the method may also include step (c) indicates that step (c) may be added to the method in any order; for example, the method may include steps (a), (b), and (c), or it may include steps (a), (c), and (b), or it may include steps (c), (a), and (b), etc.

[0057] Unless otherwise specified, the terms "comprising" and "including" as used herein can be open-ended or closed-ended. For example, "comprising" and "including" may mean that other components not listed may also be included, or that only the listed components may be included.

[0058] In the description of this article, it should be noted that, unless otherwise stated, "above" and "below" include the number itself, and "several" in "one or more" means two or more.

[0059] In this description, unless otherwise stated, the term "or" is inclusive. For example, the phrase "A or B" means "A, B, or both A and B". More specifically, the condition "A or B" is satisfied by any of the following conditions: A is true (or exists) and B is false (or does not exist); A is false (or does not exist) and B is true (or exists); or both A and B are true (or exist).

[0060] Unless otherwise specified, percentages (%) in this document refer to percentages by mass relative to the composition.

[0061] Unless otherwise stated herein, the sum of the contents of the components in the composition is 100%.

[0062] In this document, unless otherwise stated, “combination of” means a multi-component mixture of the elements, such as two, three, four, and up to the maximum possible multi-component mixture.

[0063] Unless otherwise specified, the term "a" as used in this specification means "at least one".

[0064] The terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of that feature. In the description of this invention, "a plurality of" means at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0065] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. The terminology used herein in the description of the invention is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention.

[0066] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present invention clearer, the embodiments of the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Unless otherwise specified, the experimental methods described in the embodiments of the present invention are conventional methods, and the materials and reagents used in the following embodiments are commercially available unless otherwise specified.

[0067] like Figure 1-2 As shown, this patent provides a method for preparing reconstituted tobacco leaves for heated cigarettes and heated cigarettes, including the following steps: S1. Preparation of fiber substrate, the specific steps are as follows: (1) Add the fiber chip raw material to the wet material bin for feeding. Among them, the fiber chip material is preferably a high molecular compound with good thermal stability, high melting point and inert chemical properties, so that after the preparation of reconstituted tobacco leaves for heated cigarettes, it can be used as an aerosol generation matrix to fill the heated cigarettes, which can fully meet the working temperature requirements of the heated cigarette device, and will not release harmful substances or odors during the heating process.

[0068] Fiber chip raw materials include one or more combinations of polyethylene terephthalate (polyester, PET) chips, polypropylene (PP) chips, polylactic acid (PLA, biodegradable) chips, or polyamide (PA) chips. The mass ratio of two different fiber chip raw materials affects the performance of subsequent fiber substrate preparation; the best results are achieved when the mass ratio of the two different polymer components is (1-1.5):(1-1.5).

[0069] (2) The fiber chip raw material in the wet material silo is further transported to the fluidized bed crystallization for crystallization and drying. The crystallization temperature is 180-185℃, the drying temperature is 165-170℃, and the drying time is 5-8 h to obtain the dried fiber chip raw material, which is used to dry the moisture in the fiber chip raw material.

[0070] (3) The dried fiber chips obtained in step (2) are fed into a screw extruder (commercially available) for melting to obtain fiber melt. The melting temperature is 220-300℃, which can be changed according to actual production needs or the type of dried fiber chips.

[0071] (4) The fiber melt obtained in step (3) above is metered by a metering pump according to the traditional process. After spinning, cooling and stretching by the spinning assembly, a fiber bundle is obtained. The metering pump has a rotation speed of 20-30 r / min, a stretching speed of 100-300 m / min, a stretching temperature of 70-95℃, a total stretching pressure of 2.0-2.5 bar, and a stretching ratio of 1.0-4.0. The spinning temperature is 220-300℃, the spinning speed is 700-1500 m / min, the cooling method for spinning is annular blowing, the temperature of the annular blowing is 10-25℃, and the wind speed of the annular blowing is 0.2-10.0 m / min.

[0072] (5) The fiber bundles obtained in step (4) above are pre-opened and finely opened by an opening machine (commercially available) to make the fibers loose; the opened fibers are sent into a carding machine (commercially available) and carded into a thin layer of mesh fibers in the state of single fibers. During the carding process, impurities and short fibers are further removed to obtain a thin layer of mesh fibers. (6) The thin layer of mesh fiber obtained in step (5) is split and laid into a mesh by a web laying machine to form a fiber web with a certain thickness and surface density; the fiber web is stretched to make the fiber web structure more uniform and the fiber arrangement more neat, so as to obtain a fiber web with uniform thickness.

[0073] (7) The uniform fiber web obtained in step (6) is then needle-punched and reinforced using a commercially available needle punching machine. The needles on the machine repeatedly puncture the fiber web, causing the fibers to become entangled and bond together, thereby increasing the strength and stability of the fiber web. The needle punching process includes pre-needling and main needle punching. The frequency of pre-needling is 300-400 times / min, the frequency of main needle punching is 500-700 times / min, and the needle punching density is 8000-10000 needles / m. 2 The discharge speed is 0.5-0.8 meters / min, and nonwoven fabric is obtained.

[0074] (8) The nonwoven fabric obtained in step (7) is heat-treated using a commercially available hot rolling mill to further increase the size of the internal three-dimensional space of the nonwoven fabric and enhance the strength and dimensional stability of the needle-punched nonwoven fabric. The hot rolling temperature is 150-180℃, the hot rolling time is 100-150 s, and the hot rolling pressure is 45-55 kPa, resulting in a basis weight of 20-30 g / m³. 2 30-50g / m 2 50-60 g / m 2 Or 60-80 g / m 2 The corresponding fiber substrates have thicknesses of 0.1-0.15 mm, 0.15-0.18 mm, 0.18-0.20 mm, 0.20-0.30 mm or 0.30-0.50 mm.

[0075] The porous structure of the fiber substrate serves as a structural framework, providing the necessary physical strength, toughness, and dimensional stability for the preparation of reconstituted tobacco. The porous structure within the fiber substrate supports and locks in functional pulps, and provides pathways for heat transfer during the smoking process of heated cigarettes, as well as for the release of aerosols from the aerosol-generating matrix.

[0076] S2. Preparation of the spraying slurry, the specific steps are as follows: (1) The tobacco raw material is washed with pure water, and then dried at a temperature of 60-80℃ for 2-4 hours. The dried tobacco raw material is then pulverized to 80-200 mesh using a pulverizer to obtain pretreated tobacco raw material. The tobacco raw material includes one or more combinations of tobacco stems, tobacco dust or fragments.

[0077] (2) Add a binder to deionized water to dissolve it and form a uniform colloidal solution; add atomizing agent, flavoring and functional additives to the colloidal solution, mix evenly, and then slowly add the pretreated tobacco raw material prepared in step (1) above. Disperse it by high-speed shearing or colloid milling until a uniform, stable, and non-agglomerated suspension slurry is formed, so that the solid content (here, solid content refers to all substances in the spray slurry except for deionized water) of the spray slurry is controlled between 20-50%, and the viscosity is controlled between 500-3000 mPa·s to meet the requirements of the spraying process, that is, the spray slurry is obtained. In some specific embodiments, the solids can be mixed first, mixed evenly, and then added to deionized water for mixing, and then dispersed by high-speed shearing or colloid milling until a uniform, stable, and non-agglomerated suspension slurry is formed, which can also obtain the spray slurry.

[0078] The coating comprises, with the solids content of the sprayed slurry as 100% by mass, a binder comprising 1-10% by mass, including one or more combinations of sodium methylcellulose, guar gum, sodium alginate, carrageenan, gum arabic, xanthan gum, pectin, chitosan, agar, hydroxypropyl distarch phosphate, hydroxypropyl starch, or polyvinyl alcohol; an atomizing agent comprising 20-45% by mass, preferably 20-35%, including one or more combinations of food-grade glycerin, propylene glycol, sodium polyacrylate, and polyvinylpyrrolidone; when the atomizing agent is a combination of glycerin and propylene glycol, the ratio of glycerin to propylene glycol is any ratio of (1-9):(1-9), preferably 7:3 or 8:2, to balance the amount of smoke and taste of heated cigarettes; and flavorings comprising 0.5- 8.0%, flavorings and fragrances include one or more combinations of tobacco extracts, flavorings, or natural plant essential oils. Flavorings include coconut, coffee, chocolate, vanilla, citrus (e.g., grapefruit, orange, lime, bergamot, or lemon), menthol, licorice, caramel, honey, peanut, walnut, cashew, hazelnut, almond, pineapple, strawberry, raspberry, tropical fruit, cherry, cinnamon, peppermint, deer antler, spearmint, eucalyptus, mint, fruit flavorings (e.g., from apple, pear, peach, strawberry, apricot, raspberry, cherry, pineapple, lemongrass, lime, chili (capsaicin), citrus, tobacco flavor, bergamot, and plum flavorings). Natural plant essential oils include peppermint, spearmint, menthol, eucalyptus, clove oil, laurel oil, fennel, thyme, cedarwood oil, nutmeg, and oils from the fruits of the above flavorings. The pre-treated tobacco raw material accounts for 50-70% of the total mass.

[0079] S3. Preparation of reconstituted tobacco leaves for heated cigarettes, the specific steps are as follows: (1) The fiber substrate prepared in step S1 above is installed in the unwinding device and fed out at a constant speed and tension. The fiber substrate passes through the spraying chamber and the spraying system uniformly sprays the spraying slurry prepared in step (2) above onto one or both sides of the substrate. By adjusting the slurry supply rate and the substrate running speed, the coating amount per unit area is precisely controlled.

[0080] The unwinding device has a speed of 5-30 m / min, the atomization pressure of the spraying system is 0.2-0.6 MPa, the spraying distance of the spraying system is 15-40 cm, and the coating rate of the coating slurry is 64-68%, 68-72%, or 72-74%, so that the fiber substrate is loaded with the coating slurry to obtain a loaded fiber substrate.

[0081] (2) The loaded substrate prepared in step (1) above is sent into a multi-stage drying oven for drying. Preferably, a combination of hot air circulation, infrared or microwave drying is used. The drying temperature is controlled between 80-110℃ and the drying time is between 4-8 min to ensure that the moisture is removed without damaging the effective components of tobacco, so that the final moisture content reaches a stable state of 10-15%, such as 10-12%, 12-13% or 13-15%, and the dried loaded fiber substrate is obtained.

[0082] (3) The dried load fiber substrate prepared in step (2) above is wound up by a winding device and cut into specified specifications to obtain heated cigarette reconstituted tobacco leaves.

[0083] The dry basis weight of reconstituted tobacco for heated cigarettes is 70-150 g / m³. 2 For example, 70-90 g / m 2 90-110 g / m 2 110-130 g / m 2 Or 130-150 g / m 2 Preferably, the dry basis quantitative content is 90-130 g / m³. 2 .

[0084] S4. Prepare heated cigarettes, the specific steps of which are as follows: (1) such as Figure 2The diagram shows a schematic of the structure of a heated cigarette. The reconstituted tobacco leaf for heated cigarettes prepared in step S3 is used as the aerosol generation matrix. At the rolling station, the aerosol generation matrix in the smoke-generating part 110 of the heated cigarette 100 is first wrapped, rolled, and cut using cigarette paper 1. Then, it is sequentially connected to the support part 120, the cooling part 130, and the filter part 140. The forming paper 2 is then rolled around the outer surface of the support part 120, the cooling part 130, and the filter part 140. The radial length of the forming paper 2 is greater than the radial length of the support part 120, the cooling part 130, and the filter part 140 after being sequentially connected, so that the forming paper 2 is connected to the cigarette paper 1 and wraps at least 5% of the cigarette paper 1, thereby forming the heated cigarette 100.

[0085] The support section 120 and the cooling section 130 can both serve as cooling filter rod sections, and together with the filter section 140 at the mouthpiece end, they can be referred to as filter rod sections. The filter section 140 is located downstream of the heated cigarette 100, that is, the end closer to the consumer's inhalation, while the smoke-generating section 110 is located upstream of the heated cigarette 100, that is, the end further away from the consumer's inhalation.

[0086] (2) For example Figure 3 As shown, the heated cigarette 100 prepared in step (1) above can be heated by the heated smoking device 200. The heated smoking device 200 is an aerosol generating device, which is arranged to receive the heated cigarette 100 so that the smoke-generating part 110 of the heated cigarette 100 generates aerosol. The heated smoking device 200 includes a housing, a battery and control components 210, a heating chamber 220 for receiving at least a portion of the heated cigarette 100, and a circumferentially heated heating body 230. The heated smoking device 200 and the heated cigarette 100 inserted therein constitute an aerosol generating system. At this time, the heating temperature of the heated smoking device 200 is greater than or equal to 260°C, and the fiber substrate in the reconstituted tobacco leaf of the heated cigarette will not burn, and will not release harmful substances or odors.

[0087] Example 1

[0088] (1) Add polyethylene terephthalate (PET) chips to a wet silo and transport them to a fluidized bed for crystallization and drying. The crystallization temperature is 180°C, the drying temperature is 165°C, and the drying time is 8 hours to obtain dried fiber chips.

[0089] (2) The dried fiber chips obtained in step (1) are fed into a screw extruder (commercially available) and melted at 220°C to obtain fiber melt. After traditional processes such as spinning, cooling and stretching, fiber bundles are obtained. The fibers are pre-opened and fine-opened by a feeder and then fed into a carding machine to be carded into a thin layer of net fibers in the form of single fibers. The fiber web is then split, laid and stretched by a web-laying machine to obtain a uniform fiber web. The fiber web is then pre-needled and main-needled by a needle punching machine. The pre-needling frequency is 300 times / min, the main-needling frequency is 500 times / min, and the needle punching density is 8000 needles / m. 2 The discharge speed is 0.5 m / min, and needle-punched nonwoven fabric is obtained.

[0090] (3) The needle-punched nonwoven fabric obtained in step (2) above is heat-treated by a hot rolling mill. The hot rolling temperature is 150℃, the hot rolling time is 150 s, and the hot rolling pressure is 45 kPa, resulting in a basis weight of 50 g / m. 2 The fiber substrate with a thickness of 0.18 mm is labeled as PET needle-punched nonwoven fabric. Figure 4 ).

[0091] (4) The tobacco stem raw material is washed with pure water, and then dried at a temperature of 60°C for 4 hours. The dried tobacco raw material is then crushed to 100 mesh using a pulverizer to obtain pretreated tobacco raw material.

[0092] (5) The spray slurry is prepared by mixing 60% of pretreated tobacco raw material, 32% of glycerol, 5% of sodium methylcellulose, and 3% of tobacco extract (commercially available) with deionized water, based on the mass percentage of solids in the slurry as 100%.

[0093] (6) The PET needle-punched nonwoven fabric prepared in step (3) above is placed in the unwinding device and the unwinding speed is set to 5 m / min; the spraying slurry prepared in step (5) above is placed in the spraying system and the atomization pressure of the spraying system is set to 0.2 MPa, the spraying distance is 45 cm, and the coating rate of the coating slurry is 74% to obtain the loaded fiber substrate.

[0094] (7) The loaded fiber substrate prepared in step (6) above is placed in a multi-stage drying oven for drying. The drying temperature is 100°C and the drying time is 5 min to obtain the dried loaded fiber substrate, so that the final moisture content of the dried loaded fiber substrate is 13%.

[0095] (8) The dried loaded fiber substrate prepared in step (7) is wound up by a winding device, and after being cut, it is fed into the heated cigarette reconstituted tobacco leaf. The quantitative amount of the heated cigarette reconstituted tobacco leaf is 130 g / m³. 2 ( Figure 5 ).

[0096] (9) The heated cigarette reconstituted tobacco leaf prepared in step (8) is used as an aerosol generation matrix to fill the smoking part to obtain heated cigarettes. The fiber substrate in the heated cigarette reconstituted tobacco leaf will not burn and will not release harmful substances or odors.

[0097] Example 2

[0098] (1) Add polyethylene terephthalate chips to a wet silo and transport them to a fluidized bed for crystallization and drying. The crystallization temperature is 185℃, the drying temperature is 170℃, and the drying time is 5 h to obtain dried fiber chips.

[0099] (2) The dried fiber chips obtained in step (1) are fed into a screw extruder (commercially available) and melted at 300°C to obtain fiber melt. After traditional processes such as spinning, cooling and stretching, fiber bundles are obtained. The fibers are pre-opened and fine-opened by a feeder and then fed into a carding machine to be carded into a thin layer of net fibers in the form of single fibers. The fiber web is then split, laid and stretched by a web-laying machine to obtain a uniform fiber web. The fiber web is then pre-needled and main-needled by a needle punching machine. The pre-needling frequency is 400 times / min, the main-needling frequency is 700 times / min, and the needle density is 10,000 needles / m. 2 The discharge speed is 0.8 m / min, and needle-punched nonwoven fabric is obtained.

[0100] (3) The needle-punched nonwoven fabric obtained in step (2) above is heat-treated by a hot rolling mill. The hot rolling temperature is 180℃, the hot rolling time is 100 s, and the hot rolling pressure is 55 kPa, resulting in a basis weight of 80 g / m. 2 The fiber substrate with a thickness of 0.50 mm is labeled as PET needle-punched nonwoven fabric.

[0101] (4) The tobacco stem raw material is washed with pure water, and then dried at 80°C for 2 hours. The dried tobacco raw material is then crushed to 80 mesh using a pulverizer to obtain pretreated tobacco raw material.

[0102] (5) The spray slurry is prepared by mixing with deionized water, with a solid content of 20%, based on a mass percentage of 100% of the solids in the slurry. The slurry contains 70% pretreated tobacco raw material, 20% glycerol, 2% sodium methyl cellulose, and 8.0% tobacco extract (commercially available).

[0103] (6) The PET needle-punched nonwoven fabric prepared in step (3) above is arranged in the unwinding device, and the unwinding speed is set to 30 m / min; the spraying slurry prepared in step (5) above is placed in the spraying system, the atomization pressure of the spraying system is set to 0.6 MPa, the spraying distance is 15 cm, and the coating rate of the coating slurry is 70%, to obtain the loaded fiber substrate.

[0104] (7) The loaded fiber substrate prepared in step (6) above is placed in a multi-stage drying oven for drying. The drying temperature is 80°C and the drying time is 7 min to obtain the dried loaded fiber substrate, so that the final moisture content of the dried loaded fiber substrate is 15%.

[0105] (8) The dried loaded fiber substrate prepared in step (7) is wound up by a winding device, and after being cut, it is fed into the heated cigarette reconstituted tobacco leaf. The quantitative amount of the heated cigarette reconstituted tobacco leaf is 90 g / m 2 .

[0106] (9) The heated cigarette reconstituted tobacco leaf prepared in step (8) is used as an aerosol generation matrix to fill the smoking part to obtain heated cigarettes. The fiber substrate in the heated cigarette reconstituted tobacco leaf will not burn and will not release harmful substances or odors.

[0107] Example 3

[0108] (1) Polyethylene terephthalate chips and polypropylene chips are added to a wet silo at a mass ratio of 1:1 and transported to a fluidized bed for crystallization and drying. The crystallization temperature is 185℃, the drying temperature is 170℃, and the drying time is 5 h to obtain dried fiber chips.

[0109] (2) The dried fiber chips obtained in step (1) are fed into a screw extruder (commercially available) and melted at 240°C to obtain fiber melt. After traditional processes such as spinning, cooling and stretching, fiber bundles are obtained. The fibers are pre-opened and fine-opened by a feeder and then fed into a carding machine to be carded into a thin layer of net fibers in the form of single fibers. The fiber web is then split, laid and stretched by a web-laying machine to obtain a uniform fiber web. The fiber web is then pre-needled and main-needled by a needle punching machine. The pre-needling frequency is 350 times / min, the main-needling frequency is 600 times / min, and the needle density is 9000 needles / m. 2 The discharge speed is 0.6 m / min, and needle-punched nonwoven fabric is obtained.

[0110] (3) The needle-punched nonwoven fabric obtained in step (2) above is heat-treated by a hot rolling mill. The hot rolling temperature is 180℃, the hot rolling time is 100 s, and the hot rolling pressure is 55 kPa, resulting in a basis weight of 80 g / m. 2 The fiber substrate with a thickness of 0.50 mm is labeled as PET needle-punched nonwoven fabric.

[0111] (4) The tobacco stem raw material is washed with pure water, and then dried at 80°C for 2 hours. The dried tobacco raw material is then crushed to 200 mesh using a pulverizer to obtain pretreated tobacco raw material.

[0112] (5) The spray slurry is prepared by mixing with deionized water, taking the mass percentage of solids in the slurry as 100%. The slurry contains 55% pretreated tobacco raw material, 40% glycerin, 4.5% sodium methylcellulose, and 0.5% peppermint flavoring.

[0113] (6) The PET needle-punched nonwoven fabric prepared in step (3) above is arranged in the unwinding device, and the unwinding speed is set to 30 m / min; the spraying slurry prepared in step (5) above is placed in the spraying system, the atomization pressure of the spraying system is set to 0.6 MPa, the spraying distance is 15 cm, the coating rate of the coating slurry is 64%, and the loaded fiber substrate is obtained.

[0114] (7) The loaded fiber substrate prepared in step (6) above is placed in a multi-stage drying oven for drying. The drying temperature is 80°C and the drying time is 7 min to obtain the dried loaded fiber substrate, so that the final moisture content of the dried loaded fiber substrate is 15%.

[0115] (8) The dried loaded fiber substrate prepared in step (7) is wound up by a winding device, and after being cut, it is fed into the heated cigarette reconstituted tobacco leaf. The quantitative amount of the heated cigarette reconstituted tobacco leaf is 70 g / m 2 .

[0116] (9) The heated cigarette reconstituted tobacco leaf prepared in step (8) is used as an aerosol generation matrix to fill the smoking part to obtain heated cigarettes. The fiber substrate in the heated cigarette reconstituted tobacco leaf will not burn and will not release harmful substances or odors.

[0117] Comparative Example 1

[0118] Compared with Example 1, the difference is that this comparative example follows the method described in Chinese Patent Document CN102754906A. During the dry reconstituted tobacco preparation process, the leaf base (prepared using traditional processes, mainly comprising 50% tobacco powder, 30% fluff pulp, 15% glycerol, and 5% sodium methylcellulose by mass) is needle-punched to create 300 holes / cm². 3 The diameter of the puncture hole is 0.1 mm (see actual image of reconstituted tobacco leaf). Figure 6 (As shown).

[0119] Comparative Example 2

[0120] Compared with Example 1, the difference is that this comparative example uses plant fiber (bamboo fiber) to prepare the fiber substrate ( Figure 7 The prepared fiber substrate is then used to prepare reconstituted tobacco leaves. Figure 8 Heated cigarettes were prepared using aerosol-generating matrix.

[0121] Comparative Example 3

[0122] The difference between this comparative example and Example 1 is that this comparative example uses a traditional papermaking method to prepare reconstituted tobacco leaves.

[0123] The specific method is as follows: 50% tobacco powder, 30% fluff pulp, 15% glycerol, and 5% CMC are mixed evenly to obtain the raw material; the raw material is pulped in deionized water to a freeness of 30°SR, forming a thin pulp with a solid content of 1%. This pulp is then formed, pressed, and dried on a paper machine to obtain reconstituted tobacco leaves. Figure 9 The reconstituted tobacco leaves obtained were used as an aerosol generation matrix to prepare heated cigarettes.

[0124] Comparative Example 4

[0125] The difference between this comparative example and Example 1 is that the conventional rolling method was used to prepare reconstituted tobacco leaves.

[0126] The specific method is as follows: 65% tobacco powder, 20% fluff pulp, 3% guar gum, and 12% glycerin by mass are mixed evenly to obtain the raw material; the raw material is then mixed evenly in a kneader to form lumps, which are then rolled into 0.25 mm thick sheets using a roller press. After drying, reconstituted tobacco leaves are obtained. Figure 10 The reconstituted tobacco leaves obtained were used as an aerosol generation matrix to prepare heated cigarettes.

[0127] Test Example 1: Physical Properties Test of Heated Cigarette Reconstituted Tobacco Leaves

[0128] To further illustrate the advantages of the preparation method described in the embodiments of this application, the physical properties of the heated cigarette reconstituted tobacco leaves prepared in Examples 1-3 and Comparative Examples 1-4 were tested using existing instruments and equipment. The physical property tests mainly included thickness, basis weight, and transverse tensile strength.

[0129] Compared to Comparative Examples 1-4, Examples 2-3 have similar results and conclusions to Example 1. Therefore, Example 1 is used as an example to illustrate the final results, which are shown in Table 1. (1) Example 1 uses PET needle-punched nonwoven fabric as fiber substrate, and Comparative Example 2 uses plant fiber paper as substrate. Both of them achieved a uniform and quantitatively stable coating effect through the process used in this patent, which confirms the universality of the process for different substrate materials. However, the heated cigarette reconstituted tobacco leaf prepared in Example 1 has better tensile strength, which is more than 1.65 times that of the reconstituted tobacco leaf in Comparative Example 2. This indicates that the fiber substrate prepared by the method in Example 1 of this application has better processing performance and smoking experience when reconstituted tobacco leaf is prepared.

[0130] (2) The embodiments used a spray coating process, while Comparative Example 1 used a dry preparation process with sheet-based needle punching. Data shows that the quantitative stability of Embodiment 1 was more stable, the cross-sectional quantitative range was smaller, and the tensile strength was significantly higher than that of Comparative Example 1. This indicates that the spray coating process of the present invention has significant advantages in terms of product quality stability and physical properties, and can produce reconstituted tobacco leaves with higher strength and better performance, which is more conducive to subsequent processing and use.

[0131] (3) The thickness of the reconstituted tobacco in Comparative Example 3 is significantly higher than that of the reconstituted tobacco for instant cigarettes prepared in Example 1, but the quantitative value of the reconstituted tobacco is significantly lower than that in Example 1. The average quantitative value of the reconstituted tobacco for heated cigarettes in Example 1 is more than 1.2 times that of the average value of the reconstituted tobacco in Comparative Example 3, and the average tensile strength of the reconstituted tobacco for heated cigarettes in Example 1 is more than 2 times that of the average value of the reconstituted tobacco in Comparative Example 3. This indicates that the fiber substrate prepared by the method in Example 1 of this application has better processing performance and smoking experience when reconstituted tobacco is prepared.

[0132] (4) The thickness values ​​of the reconstituted tobacco leaves in Comparative Example 4 were 0.254, 0.275, 0.251, and 0.234 mm, with a thickness range of 0.041 mm. The quantitative values ​​were 121, 129, 135, and 115 g / cm³. 3 The quantitative range reached 20 g / cm³. 3 The thickness uniformity is poor and the horizontal fluctuation is significant, resulting in product stability far inferior to the example.

[0133] (4) The thickness measurements of Comparative Example 4 were 0.254, 0.275, 0.251, and 0.234 mm, with a thickness range of 0.041 mm. The quantitative measurements were 121, 129, 135, and 115 g / cm³. 3 The quantitative range reached 20 g / cm³. 3 This indicates that the reconstituted tobacco leaves prepared by the method in Comparative Example 4 have poor thickness uniformity and significant horizontal fluctuations, and the product stability is far inferior to that of Example 1.

[0134] In summary, the reconstituted tobacco leaves for heated cigarettes prepared in Example 1 of this application exhibit significantly higher overall performance in terms of both quantitative and tensile strength compared to Comparative Examples 1-4. The quantitative and tensile strength differences are more pronounced in the reconstituted tobacco leaves, especially when used as an aerosol-generating matrix in heated cigarettes. The reconstituted tobacco leaves prepared in Example 1, with their high quantitative and tensile strength, provide a more stable filling structure in heated cigarettes. This stability ensures that heated cigarettes are less prone to deformation, collapse, or damage during manufacturing, transportation, and storage, improving raw material utilization, maintaining the consistency of aerosol generation, ensuring unobstructed aerosol release channels, and better carrying and releasing fibrous materials. This enhances the smoking experience of heated cigarettes and improves the consumer experience.

[0135] Therefore, the method for preparing reconstituted tobacco leaves for heated cigarettes described in this application has significant advantages over existing dry papermaking, traditional papermaking, and traditional rolling processes in terms of product performance, quality stability, and processing performance, providing a better solution for the preparation of reconstituted tobacco leaves for heated cigarettes.

[0136] Table 1. Summary of physical properties of fiber substrates and reconstituted tobacco leaves from different embodiments and comparative examples.

[0137] Test Example 2: Smoking Test

[0138] The heated cigarettes prepared in Examples 1-3 and Comparative Examples 1-4 were subjected to tasting experiments using a reference evaluation method. Referring to GB5606.4-2005 "Sensory Technical Requirements for Cigarettes Part 4", YC / T 564-2018 "Sensory Evaluation Method for Chinese-Style Cigarettes Based on Consumer Experience", and YC / T 497-2014 "Sensory Evaluation Method for Chinese-Style Cigarette Style", key evaluation indicators were established based on the smoke characteristics of the heated cigarettes. A professional tasting group of at least seven people evaluated the heated cigarettes from the dimensions of aroma characteristics, smoke characteristics, and taste characteristics. Aroma characteristics included elegance, transparency, richness, clarity, and any off-flavors or impurities; smoke characteristics included smoothness, mellowness, smoothness, and cohesiveness; and taste characteristics included cleanliness, sweetness, moistness, astringency, burning sensation, and dryness.

[0139] The evaluation results were obtained by 7 provincial-level smoke tasters, and the average value of the evaluation results was taken. The results showed that the heated cigarettes prepared by the methods described in Examples 1-3 had a richer flavor, a more pleasant aroma, reduced impurities while producing no off-flavors, more even smoke release, and lower dryness and burning sensation compared to the heated cigarettes prepared by the methods described in Comparative Examples 1-4. This indicates that the heated cigarettes prepared using the methods described in Examples 1-3 can significantly improve the smoking experience and increase consumer comfort.

[0140] Therefore, it can be concluded that this patent provides a method for preparing reconstituted tobacco leaves for heated cigarettes, as well as heated cigarettes. By utilizing polymers combined with needle punching to prepare a porous fiber substrate (needle-punched nonwoven fabric), it can support and lock in the sprayed slurry, providing a channel for heat transfer and aerosol release in the aerosol generation matrix during the heating process of heated cigarettes. This breaks through the raw material limitations of traditional plant fibers, abandons the complex preparation process of traditional papermaking, and improves the uniformity of thickness and tensile strength of reconstituted tobacco leaves, enhances the sensory quality of heated cigarettes, reduces energy consumption and production costs, and makes it more suitable for the needs of continuous operation in modern factories.

[0141] In the foregoing description of exemplary embodiments / specific implementations of this patent, various features of this patent are sometimes combined in a single embodiment / specific implementation or its figures and description, with the aim of simplifying the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of one or more of the various aspects of the invention. However, unless expressly stated otherwise or in obvious technical contradiction or exclusion, the descriptive method of this patent should not be construed as reflecting an intention that the claimed features of the invention are more than expressly stated in each claim. Rather, the inventive aspect reflected in the claims lies in not all the features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment / specific implementation. Therefore, the claims following the detailed description are hereby expressly incorporated into this detailed description, each claim existing independently as a separate embodiment / specific implementation of this patent.

[0142] The terms and expressions used in this specification are for illustrative purposes and not for limitation. Their use is not intended to exclude any equivalents of the shown and described features or portions thereof, but rather to facilitate the understanding that various modifications may be possible within the scope of this patent claim. Therefore, it should be understood that while this patent has been specifically disclosed through preferred embodiments, exemplary embodiments, and optional features, variations or modifications of the concepts disclosed herein may be adopted by those skilled in the art, and such variations and modifications are therefore considered to be within the scope of this patent as defined by the appended claims. The specific embodiments given in this specification are examples of useful embodiments of this patent, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that this patent can be implemented using many variations of the devices, device components, and method steps disclosed herein.

[0143] The foregoing description of specific embodiments fully discloses the general features of this patent, enabling others to easily modify and / or adapt such embodiments for various applications by applying knowledge within the scope of the art, without excessive experimentation or deviation from the general concept of this patent. Therefore, based on the teachings and guidance provided herein, it is intended that such modifications and alterations be included within the meaning and scope of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It should be understood that the wording or terminology used herein is for descriptive purposes and not intended to be limiting; thus, the wording or terminology in this specification will be interpreted by those skilled in the art based on the foregoing teachings and guidance.

[0144] Furthermore, the scope of this patent should not be limited to any of the exemplary embodiments described above, but only to the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method for reconstituted tobacco leaves for heated cigarettes, characterized in that, The heated cigarette reconstituted tobacco leaf includes a fiber substrate and a coating slurry; The fiber substrate is a needle-punched nonwoven fabric prepared from non-plant fiber raw materials by needle punching. The fiber substrate has a porous structure for adsorbing the coating slurry. The coating slurry includes tobacco raw materials.

2. The reconstituted tobacco leaf for heated cigarettes according to claim 1, characterized in that, The non-plant-based raw materials include one or more combinations of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) chips, polypropylene chips, polylactic acid (PLA) chips, or polyamide chips.

3. The reconstituted tobacco leaf for heated cigarettes according to claim 2, wherein the basis weight of the fiber substrate is 20-30 g / m³. 2 30-50g / m 2 50-60 g / m 2 Or 60-80 g / m 2 The thickness of the fiber substrate is 0.1-0.15 mm, 0.15-0.18 mm, 0.18-0.20 mm, 0.20-0.30 mm or 0.30-0.50 mm.

4. The reconstituted tobacco leaf for heated cigarettes according to claim 3, characterized in that, The coating slurry is composed of a mixture of solids and deionized water, wherein the content of the solids in the coating slurry is 20-50%, and the viscosity of the coating slurry is 500-3000 mPa·s. The solid material includes the tobacco raw material; the tobacco raw material includes one or more combinations of tobacco stems, tobacco dust or fragments; the mesh size of the tobacco raw material is 80-100 mesh, 100-150 mesh or 150-200 mesh.

5. The reconstituted tobacco leaf for heated cigarettes according to claim 4, characterized in that, The solids also include binders, atomizing agents, and fragrances; Based on the mass percentage of the solids being 100%, the mass percentage of the tobacco raw material is 50-70%, the mass percentage of the binder is 1-10%, the mass percentage of the atomizing agent is 20-45%, and the mass percentage of the flavoring and fragrance is 0.5-8.0%.

6. The reconstituted tobacco leaf for heated cigarettes according to claim 5, characterized in that, The binder includes one or more combinations of sodium methylcellulose, guar gum, sodium alginate, carrageenan, gum arabic, xanthan gum, pectin, chitosan, agar, hydroxypropyl distarch phosphate, hydroxypropyl starch, or polyvinyl alcohol. The atomizing agent includes one or more combinations of glycerin, propylene glycol, sodium polyacrylate, and polyvinylpyrrolidone.

7. The reconstituted tobacco leaf for heated cigarettes according to claim 6, characterized in that, The quantitative amount of the heated cigarette reconstituted tobacco leaves is 70-90 g / m³. 2 90-110 g / m 2 110-130 g / m 2 Or 130-150g / m 2 ; The moisture content of the heated cigarette reconstituted tobacco leaves is 10-12%, 12-13%, or 13-15%.

8. A method for preparing reconstituted tobacco leaves for heated cigarettes according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Step A: The non-plant fiber raw material is melted, spun, cooled and drawn to obtain fiber bundles. The fiber bundles are opened and drawn to obtain a fiber web. The fiber web is needle-punched using a needle-punching method and then heat-treated to obtain the fiber substrate. Step B: Spray the coating slurry onto the surface of the fiber substrate to obtain a loaded fiber substrate; Step C: After drying the loaded fiber substrate, roll it up and cut it to obtain the reconstituted tobacco leaves for heated cigarettes.

9. The method for preparing reconstituted tobacco leaves for heated cigarettes according to claim 8, characterized in that, In step A, the acupuncture includes pre-acupuncture and main acupuncture. The frequency of pre-acupuncture is 300-400 times / min, the frequency of main acupuncture is 500-700 times / min, and the acupuncture density is 8000-10000 needles / m². 2 ; In step B, the coating rate of the coating slurry is 64-68%, 68-72%, or 72-74%; the atomization pressure of the spraying is 0.2-0.6 MPa. In step C, the drying temperature is 80-110℃ and the drying time is 4-8 min.

10. A heated cigarette, characterized in that, Includes reconstituted tobacco leaves for heated cigarettes as described in any one of claims 1-7.

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